Glendalough Double Barrel is a single grain Irish whiskey, aged in a combination of bourbon and oloroso sherry casks. Sweet and creamy, with butterscotch and honey from the American oak and dried fruit from the Spanish.
Upon its release, this whiskey won double gold at The World Spirits Competition in San Francisco. It really is an Irish whiskey that will make you think twice about Irish whiskey. A lovely, light and drinkable whiskey, it’s also complex with a depth of flavour beyond its years.
Aged twice in barrels from far sides of the world, the flavours are a game of two halves.
American oak Bourbon barrels bring sweet honey and smooth vanilla notes, laying down the foundations of the flavours. The Spanish oak Oloroso barrels layer on dried fruit, and nutty flavours.
TASTING NOTES
The nose. Rich with dark fruit, cherry, raisin, fig and Christmas pudding. Floral notes with lemongrass, citrus and a touch of nutmeg.
The taste. Sweet and smooth, with butterscotch, honey and peppercorn, dried fruit, maraschino cherries and brown sugar.
The finish. Ginger spices a touch of almond and earthiness.
Along with whiskey, Ireland is famous across the world for fine stout and porter. We’ve swapped barrels over the years with our friends in the 5 Lamps Brewery, and found that finishing our whiskey in barrels that had previously held their Black Pitts porter brings our single malt to incredible depths. Made with roasted chocolate barley, it amplifies the malt notes while layering on rich, dark flavours.
Inspired by the 7 hard years that St Kevin spent in the wild and the “city of 7 churches” he came to build at Glendalough. Have a look on the bottle, you’ll see 7 silver crosses. These will lead you to each of the 7 churches, should you ever be stirred into going to Glendalough.
TASTING NOTES
The nose. Sweet with toffee apples, dark chocolate and vanilla ice cream.
The taste. Smooth and warm with mandarin orange, cocoa, toffee and cooked fruit, followed by clove and peppery spices.
The finish. Long and spicy with toasted oak, treacle and brown-sugared coffee notes.
Winner of ‘Best Irish Single Grain’ at the Irish whiskey awards, this is an exceptional whiskey.
To make it, the whiskey is first aged in Bourbon, then it is finished in Oloroso before being finally casked in canteiro-aged, Madeira barrels from off the coast of Africa. Highly sought-after, and hard to come by, these Madeira barrels do something special to the whiskey.
Madeira wine is all about heat and tropical sea air. As such the barrels soak up and impart intense aromas and flavours bringing this whiskey right off the deep end.
TASTING NOTES
The Nose. Rich sultanas, exotic fruit, mango and pineapple with a touch orange zest and marmalade. A light, inviting nose that draws you into deep flavours to come.
The Taste. Complex but light and lively. Cooked fruit, raisins, dark cherry and plum notes. Vanilla and sweet grains with a slight peppercorn spice.
The Finish. Clean and balanced, with dark stone fruits, spicy with a light earthiness.
A single grain whiskey aged in American Bourbon barrels then Grand Cru Burgundy cask finished.
TASTING NOTES
The nose.
-Light but rich
-Leafy and leathery
-Vanilla
-Dark cherries
The taste.
-Fruity and fresh
-Citrus
-Dry
-Rich berry notes
The finish.
-Earthy
-Tannins
-Peppery wood spice
Glendalough’s Mizunara 7-year single malt is vivid, but delicate with seamless depth. It is vibrant, fruity, and floral on the nose, enjoying a luxuriously smooth mouthfeel with notes of dark chocolate orange, sandalwood and cinnamon synonymous with Mizunara whiskeys. This unique whiskey benefits from an exceptionally long finish of toasted oak and oriental spices, with the dark chocolate lingering even longer.
TASTING NOTES
NOSE
Sandalwood, orange zest, vanilla pod, and milk chocolate.
PALATE
Chocolatey notes continue, with toasted cinnamon and five-spice, plus juicy apricot and nectarine.
FINISH
Flaky pastry, brown sugar, lemon peel, anise.
(by The Chaps at Master of Malt)
masterofmalt.com
IRISH OAK FINISHED POT STILL
Finished for up to a year in the rarest of all casks, virgin Irish oak, this is a milestone for Irish whiskey. A single cask, mainstream whiskey that makes available the flavours of Irish oak to everyone.
Each bottle is numbered and traceable to each cask and even to the tree from whence it came.
We sustainably fell 140 year-old trees from the ancient oak forests in the mountains around the distillery. This was the beginning of a year long process that ends with an Irish oak hogshead.
These special casks are filled with the most quintessentially Irish of whiskeys – pot still. The higher levels of toasted oak and vanilla flavours that Irish oak brings to the liquid complement and balance the classic pot still spices.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Raw malt aromas, with tannic oak, creamy vanilla notes and some oak char, with a wave of cinnamon spice.
Palate: Crystallised ginger and candied citrus, banana custard and maple syrup, leading into green oak and dried herbs.
Finish: Aromatic clove and more creamy vanilla, alongside some red berries and toasted oak.
(by The Chaps at Master of Malt)
masterofmalt.com
Limited to 1,800 bottles, the Glendalough 25 Year Old is the first Irish Single Malt to be aged in Irish Oak. Initially this whiskey was matured in heavily charred ex-Bourbon barrels before being transferred into an Oloroso Sherry cask before finally being aged in virgin Irish oak.
A WORLD’S FIRST HAPPENS ONLY ONCE
Not just rare, but unique. This is the first Irish single malt ever to be aged in an Irish oak cask.
This is a monumental moment for our distillery, and in the history of Irish whiskey, bottled.
The liquid itself is sublime, with each of the three casks and two predecessor liquids adding to its taste in both the right measure and order.
The luxurious sweetness of the heavily charred American oak Bourbon cask is followed by the bold, round flavours of toasted Spanish oak, Oloroso casks, with the lively last word left to the virgin Irish oak spices.
This is all clearly discernible in chronological order through an exquisite smoothness.
Limited to 6,000 bottles, each of which have been numbered individually.
GOING THE EXTRA 6,000 MILES
Whiskey is an experiment, this one more than most. Ireland has never produced a whiskey like it. The result of this experiment we now proudly present to you.
After 15 years in a first-fill bourbon cask, this was already an exceptional single malt. It had vibrant citrus notes over the long, sweet honey and vanilla you’d expect. It was the rare, Japanese Mizunara, however that brought the unexpected.
The Mizunara oak, sourced from an island 6,000 miles away, has really rounded this whiskey, bringing the viscosity to a luxurious, creamy mouth-feel. Sweet but spicy, very smooth but very complex. Its flavour profile stems from the unique oak lactone ratio and the vanillin levels in Mizunara.
Even before this whiskey touches your lips, the nose promises an exotic adventure in flavour. Oriental incense, woody spices and coconut aromas, mix wonderfully with the lighter fruitier notes of this Irish single malt.
A truly outstanding whiskey.
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Red apple, cinnamon, brown sugar, sandalwood, heather honey, liquorice, strawberry and leather.
Palate: Coconut, Crunchie Bars, ginger, subtly grassy, waxy peels, cassia, toasted pecans.
Finish: Cadbury’s Fruit & Nut, pineapple, slightly peppery, apricot.
(by The Chaps at Master of Malt)
masterofmalt.com